Since the report of the United Nations Commission on Life-saving Commodities for Women and Children (UNCoLSC) was published in 2012, much has been done to highlight the challenges countries face in ensuring the availability of essential commodities and to create resources to assist countries in this endeavor. In most settings, these commodities are procured with government funds, but there is a lack of documented evidence as to how decisions regarding financing for these commodities are made and executed. An understanding of the financial flows for MNCH commodities is critical as countries pursue the goals of ending preventable child and maternal deaths and of universal health coverage and as many go through processes of decentralization. Understanding financial flows for MNCH commodities may also assist the donor community in making smarter investments and assisting countries in mobilizing additional resources. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) commissioned this study in Bangladesh, Nepal, Kenya, and Uganda.

Since the report of the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children (UNCoLSC) was published in 2012, much has been done to highlight the challenges countries face in ensuring the availability of essential commodities and to create resources to assist countries in this endeavor. In most settings, these commodities are procured with government funds, but there is a lack of documented evidence as to how decisions regarding financing for these commodities are made and executed. An understanding of the financial flows for MNCH commodities is critical as countries pursue the goals of ending preventable child and maternal deaths and of universal health coverage and as many go through the process of decentralization. Understanding financial flows for MNCH commodities may also assist the donor community in making smarter investments and assisting countries in mobilizing additional resources. SIAPS conducted an assessment of subnational procurement practices in Kenya. One component of that assessment is related to understanding the financial flows for MNCH commodities.

Since the report of the United Nations Commission on Life-saving Commodities for Women and Children (UNCoLSC) was published in 2012, much has been done to highlight the challenges countries face in ensuring the availability of essential commodities and to create resources to assist countries in this endeavor. In most settings, these commodities are procured with government funds, but there is a lack of documented evidence as to how decisions regarding financing for these commodities are made and executed. An understanding of the financial flows for MNCH commodities is critical as countries pursue the goals of ending preventable child and maternal deaths and of universal health coverage and as many go through processes of decentralization. Understanding financial flows for MNCH commodities may also assist the donor community in making smarter investments and assisting countries in mobilizing additional resources. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) commissioned this study in Bangladesh, Nepal, Kenya, and Uganda.

As countries pursue the maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) targets established under Sustainable Development Goal 3, they will need to ensure the continuous availability of essential health commodities to prevent and treat the conditions that cause morbidity and mortality in those groups. Since the report of the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children (UNCoLSC) was published in 2012, much progress has been made to highlight the challenges countries face in ensuring access to essential commodities and to create resources to overcome these challenges. A major issue yet to be adequately addressed is financing for these life-saving commodities. SIAPS mapped the budget allocation, approval, disbursement, and reporting processes in the public sector for essential MNCH commodities in four countries—
Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, and Uganda—to inform the development of strategies and
interventions that will improve access to these commodities.

An interview with Sheena Patel, technical advisor for maternal, newborn and child health activities at SIAPS The health of women and children is critical to the overall health and prosperity of a country—and the world. Can you talk a bit about why? The most obvious reason is that when women and children are healthy, they […]

The UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities (UNCoLSC) Supply Chain Technical Resource Team developed a quantification supplement covering 13 underused reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health commodities with great lifesaving potential. These 13 commodities, prioritized by the UNCoLSC, have diverse characteristics: some are new products in the process of being introduced, while others have been in […]

Ghoneim R, Feinberg J. Increasing Access to Lifesaving Commodities for Women and Children: Getting the Numbers Right. This seminar was presented as part of the 2016 USAID Global Health Mini-University. For more information on the Mini-University, visit www.mini-university.com.

The Maternal Health Technical Resource Team (MHTRT) of the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children has been exploring strategies to increase access to quality oxytocin, including advocating for the integration of oxytocin in the existing cold chain for the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI).

Some countries, such as Mali and Ghana, have attempted integration in some areas of the country already and have experiences that can help answer that question. PATH and the Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program recently prepared case studies on these countries that describe the extent to which integration was achieved. In neither case was integration systematic; it occurred spontaneously and out of necessity at points along the distribution chain.

The purpose of this activity is to work with national stakeholders to identify and analyze feasible and acceptable options for the integration of oxytocin in the EPI cold chain at key points along the distribution chain and to develop guidance on the operationalization of such integration.

A team composed of an international consultant, a national consultant, two representatives from the Directorate of Pharmacy and Medicines (DPM) and the SIAPS-Mali team worked together in the preparation and organization of workshops.

During the preparatory phase of the two working meetings, the team developed the terms of reference, the letter of invitation, and the agenda of the working meetings and presentations and agreed on the profile of the participants for the working meetings.

The methodological approach was the same for both working meetings, namely presentations followed by discussion and group work, summarized in a plenary session.